


The Mighty Fall

by psuedopoetic



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:55:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28015050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psuedopoetic/pseuds/psuedopoetic
Summary: in which nora allen tries to save everyone and herself, only to overshoot by five years into a world she knew nothing about
Kudos: 5





	1. The Art of Failure

**NORA HAD VERY FEW PEOPLE LEFT IN HER LIFE.** Her parents had died, and after the Resistance was finally crushed underneath the Reach's foot there wasn't anyone else she could think to care for beside Wally, her cousin, and her younger brother Bart. Bart was only eight, he was so youthful, but it was diminished by their world, where his gaunt frame was just another in the crowd.

When she was younger she daydreamed of a world without the Reach. It was foolish, she knew it was, but she desperately hoped that that world might exist in some universe she hadn't been lucky enough to live in. A world where she and her brother didn't have to wear collars around their necks like dogs, or a world where her parents were alive--or better, a world where she didn't have to latch onto her brother at night just to make sure he was there when she woke up.

That was Nora Allen's world. Ever since her parents died she was on her own. Wally was there, but there was a gap year where they had been split up, Wally sent to a harsher labor camp and Nora and Bart to another, one for the younger population. There she had done everything in her power to take care of Bart, letting herself waste away so the small child could get enough to keep his head up.

When they were reunited Nora swore to never do that again, to live a life so miserable that death seemed like heaven. And that's when she found out about how her grandfather managed to run back in time. Wally couldn't reach those speeds, it was physically impossible, and it would take her years to learn how to even attempt to do it. Luckily Wally was smarter, smarter than anyone she had ever met, and formed a plan.

After years of scraping by, the things they collected hidden instead of traded for food and pleasantries, the machine was done. Wally wanted to go, he'd told her he would do it if he could, but that he existed then and it was impossible for him to go back. That only left Nora.

As it felt like her body was being ripped apart atom by atom she thought of how it felt to hug Bart, squeezing him as tears ran down her cheeks, promising him that no matter what happened she loved him, that she loved him so much and he was everything to her. He knew what was happening, he knew she wasn't coming back, and that's what made it worse.

For a moment she hoped she would be ripped apart by the force, to get rid of the ache in her chest that burst when she screamed, but then it was over. She sat there, arms wrapped around herself, unable to think.

Had it worked? It seemed too simple. It couldn't have worked. She was still in the ash field, she had to be.

With a deep, mighty breath she pushed the door open, stepping through, expecting to feel ash raining down on her, just as it did nearly every second of the day. But it wasn't. It was clean air, filling her lungs like the best drug in the world, leaving her gasping for more.

 _The Cave_. She had made it. If Wally was right, Blue Beetle should be there, or near there. Despite everything in her wanting to stay and look around she burst forward, feeling utterly _free_ at the fact that she was running--her speed, not everyone else's--for the first time in years. She forgot what it felt like, how everything seemed to slow down until she could form her thoughts properly, like the universe was holding its breath just for her.

She had sped around the Cave's hallways once when she realized something wasn't right. There were nearly a dozen people on the team, at least one person should be out in the hall. 

Nora stopped short, trying to think about the fastest route to Texas. Blue Beetle lived in Texas, that was all Wally could remember. She could find him if he wasn't there.

"Put your hands up. _Slowly._ "

Nora stiffened, her spine completely straight. She jerked to the side, faster than they could ever hope to react, time moving at Nora's speed as she came to an awful, heart-stopping conclusion.

The boy--black-haired, pale, clad in an old-style _Robin's uniform_ \--was not on the team. Or wasn't supposed to be. Wally said that Robin was gone, that they were Nightwing, not Robin. So why--?

Someone slammed into her, knocking her to the ground, and Nora gasped as she got to her feet, trying to bring air back into her lungs after the shock.

 _Kid Flash_. Wally, Kid Flash, was standing three feet from her, eyebrows pinched together, standing close to Robin as he raised his fists defensively. "You seen this chick before, Rob?"

"Definitely not," he answered, eyes narrowed. "I think I'd remember her."

Robin threw a batarang and she dodged it, then another, and another. Her mind couldn't seem to move fast enough, everything falling apart in front of her. Wally was retired now, he wasn't supposed to be here, and neither was this Robin--

She went to dodge another batarang, but right as she began to, it exploded into a hard amber substance. Nora's eyes went wide, the feeling of being restrained shooting fear straight into her heart. In seconds she was out, phasing straight through the substance.

Robin whispered a curse. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"What year is it?"

"I-- _year?_ " Wally blinked in confusion. "Wait, no, I have a better question: where did you get your powers, knockoff Flash? Your suit sucks, by the way."

Wally made it. It was grey, like ash, it blended in. It was Nora's aunt's.

"The year," Nora repeated. "Is it 2016?"

"It's 2011," Robin answered, suspicion creeping into his voice. "What did you say your name was?"

Nora froze. She couldn't say anything. Somehow it was all messed up and she was five years early, five years too soon. Blue Beetle wouldn't even be created yet. _She failed_.

She just barely dodged Wally's fist to her nose, the only reason being that she was a fraction of a millisecond faster than her, meaning by the time he rebounded she was ready to take a punch to the stomach. It sent her back into the wall, skull cracking against it, and she gasped, eyes fixed on the blinding florescent lights.

_Bright lights, scanning the ash fields, blinding her as everyone screams, soldiers running--_

She struggled when the handcuffs were put around her wrists, and nearly phased through them before she realized it was no use. What could she do? Where would she go? Her plan had been to land in the correct time, but that hadn't happened. Everything was wrong, her plan had failed-- _she_ had failed.

Wally pushed her forward, his hands on her shoulders, and Nora ached to do something. She wasn't sure what, but the feeling of being confined again was sickening.

She was pushed down onto a couch where others were waiting, standing with their arms crossed. There was Superboy, Aqua Lad, Miss Martian, and Artemis. Three of which weren't supposed to be on the team, not for the time she was aiming for.

They were young. Nora didn't know much about before 2016, she had studied that year specifically, only Blue Beetle's team. She had no idea about these people or how they operated.

"Who are you?" Artemis asked. "What was that thing you came in?"

 _The ship_.

"She's a speedster," Robin informed. "She can phase through things."

"So she's faster than Wally?"

" _Hey!_ "

"Yes," Robin answered, ignoring his friend's protest. "And she asked what year it was?"

"Year?" Connor echoed. "She asked what year it was?"

"Yep. She asked if it was 2016." Suddenly Robin seemed to get an idea and he pulled out his hologlove, typing in a few things. " _I knew it_. She came from the future. Or past."

" _What?_ " Artemis looked at Nora, eyes narrowed. "How could you possibly know that from just typing into your glove?"

"There's trace amounts of zeta and Chronoton radiation."

Wally's eyes went wide. "Which is--theoretically--what you would find radiating off of a time machine." He blinked, like someone had given him a jacket for free. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Robin's glove shut off. "Which just leaves the question . . . where did she come from?"

"Talk," Artemis said, taking a threatening step forward.

Kaldur stopped her by putting an arm on her shoulder and she quickly shrugged it off. "We do not do that here." He stepped forward, shoulders set, and Nora realized why people were scared of Aqualad when he was with The Light. "What is your name?"

"It's--it's Nora," she said, because she couldn't think of a name to lie wih. "My name's Nora." Kaldur stared at her expectantly and she continued, thinking of a lie at the last second. "Barnes, Nora Barnes."

She had known a man named Fred Barnes for all of two days when she was younger before he died. She didn't think he'd need the last name anymore.

"Where did you come from?"

"The future," Nora answered. "2056."

"Why are you here?"

Her foot tapped rapidly on the floor, nearly untraceable as it blurred together. "I'm a tourist. I _came_ to go to 2016, but I think the machine messed up and sent me here. Stupid thing, I knew I shouldn't have taken the discount one. I came to see the Justice League when they were at their prime, with all the original people, but I guess I got the original _original_ people instead. Dammit, I can't believe I got stuck in the wrong time. I mean, who does that? That's so moded, I can't believe--"

"Slow down," Kaldur chided, slightly understanding. "We can't understand you."

"Uh, I caught every third word of that," Wally informed, looking confused.

"I meant to go to 2016, to see the Justice League when they had the best people," Nora said. "That's when being a hero was easier, when anyone could be one. But the machine must have messed up on the way here because I got to 2011 instead--instead of 2016."

The lie was quickly coming together in her head, stitching together like an intricate tapestry she was always chasing to finish. It made her stomach twist into knots.

"Well then just . . . go back," Connor suggested, rather dully. "Go to 2016 instead."

Kaldur was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Connor is right. Can't you go to the future now? Why stay?"

"It's a one-way ticket," Nora said, her stomach sinking as she said it. "You can go somewhere but you can't come back. That's why they're _supposed_ to work."

"You risked all of that, just to see the Justice League?" Artemis scoffed. "I'm not buying it, she's lying, she has to be."

"I'm not!" Nora protested. "In the future it's different, there's so many rules to follow to be a hero. So, well, I thought I'd go back in time, to when things were easier for heroes and be one. When all the other speedsters were at their peak. I thought it'd be better to actually use my powers for something good."

"Are we really going to believe her?" Artemis said. "She just came out of nowhere, is somehow a speedster, and claims she's from the future. That doesn't make any sense!"

"I'm telling the _truth,_ " Nora huffed. "All I wanted to do was be a hero. Why do you think I chose this place to land in? In 2016 it's the home of part of the League. See, only something a future girl would know."

" _Really?_ " Wally said, a hand on his hip questioningly. "Then tell me something only a 'future girl' would know."

"Fine." She nodded to Superboy. "That's Connor Kent, or Superboy. A clone of Superman using stolen DNA. Hot-head, only has part of his powers, and is a G-Nome." She nodded toward Wally. "Wally West, or Kid Flash. Your mom's name is Mary and your dad's is Rudy, you replicated the experiment that turned your uncle into the Flash in your garage, but it blew up and sent you to the hospital. It made you a bit slower than the Flash."

Everyone blinked, shocked that she knew that much about them. "And that's Miss Martian, or M'gann," she continued. "Martian, Martian Manhunter's niece, really powerful mind-reader. Really badass. A lot of siblings, always wanted to be a hero a Wh--"

"Okay, we believe you!" Miss Martian said, her cheeks flushing green. "You know everything about us, okay?"

 _Right_. She didn't like telling people she was a White Martian. Nora had forgotten that.

"Do you know who I am?" Dick asked, knowing that would be the final nail in the coffin.

"Well, you have a thing for secret identities," Nora said, shrugging. "I mean, if you want me to, but your name's a kinda crude word--"

"Yep, she's from the future," Dick nodded, cutting her off from either embarrassment of his name or trying to keep it secret. "Definitely from the future."

"See? Told you. I'm from the future."

"Alright, Nora Barnes," Kaldur greeted, his sea glass eyes boring into hers. "It is your time to meet the Justice League."


	2. Grenade

**NORA COULDN'T BELIEVE HER LUCK.** She had expected to be locked away in some Justice League prison--at best--yet there she was, standing with The Team, trying to reel in her shock.

The Justice League believed her, surprisingly. They made a deal with her, that if she lived in The Cave, she would be allowed to be a hero by whatever (appropriate) name she chose. She nearly had to have a tracker, but as soon as Batman proposed it Black Canary and Flash caused an uproar, saying that he wouldn't be putting a tracker into a fifteen year old, regardless of where she came from.

The strangest thing about that was that her _grandfather_ defended her. She had always wanted to meet him, to meet the great _Flash_ , the one where her powers came from. Wally had told her stories of him, of the man that trained him, too.

She wanted to be like him, to have the powers he did. When she was younger, before they got caught by the Reach, Wally had been doing his best to teach her new abilities with her speed, ones that he himself didn't have. After the collars Nora would go through the steps without her speed until it was muscle memory, until she was _sure_ that the second the collar was off she could do any of them without thinking twice.

Barry Allen was one of the most genuine people she had ever met, and just like Wally said, it was one of his faults. He promised her that, if she wanted to, he would teach her how to use her powers better than she was. He even said that she reminded him of Wally when he was younger, which she thought was the best thing she had ever been told.

The downside to all of it: she had to stay in the Cave. At all times aside from missions, or until they knew she wasn't a "threat to society." Which meant she had to stay with Miss Martian and Superboy, who by that point had grown annoyed with her calling them by their hero names and told her to call them M'gann and Connor.

She had never met them before. She knew the basics of them, she had to, and she barely knew anything more. Wally was her teacher--it meant talking about his dead friends more than he needed to, so she only knew a few things about them, things they probably would rather she didn't know.

For one, she knew Connor liked to watch static. Not because it was interesting to him, but because the loudness of it cancelled out everything else. Nora didn't like it, it brought back bad memories, so she tried to steer clear of the living room when he was using it.

M'gann liked to cook, mostly bake, since it was easier and she didn't know how to use earth spices. Since Nora was at the Cave with them she had gotten roped into eating the things, too. Not that she was complaining. One, she could finally eat the right amount of calories to keep herself healthy. And two, the food in the future was mostly scavenged, meaning it was years old or cured until it had no taste. Even M'gann's slightly-charred cookies were delicious to Nora, which the Martian was suspicious of, but she seemed too happy that someone wanted her desserts to question it.

It was strange being at the Cave, it felt like an entirely different world Nora was never meant to be a part of, but she was learning to accept it. She didn't like that she had failed, but she couldn't dwell on that, she had to wait it out until Blue Beetle was created. Or until she knew enough of it to stop it from happening.

Still, Nora liked being at the Cave. Mostly because it was luxurious, even by the past's standards, which meant it was practically heaven by the future's. She hadn't slept in a bed in years, she'd never had air conditioning that was _cold_ , and to top it all off, it was safe. Food was a nice addition, but she liked the safety of it more. She could click one button on the holographic computer in the training room and see all of the cameras, though that was as far as her clearance went. It didn't matter, it was enough to ease her mind entirely.

On top of that she had managed to put a timeline together, which calmed her nerves more. Despite the future being unpredictable at best, Nora always planned everything out, even if she knew it wouldn't go her way. It made her feel better having a vague idea of what she could do in the worst situation.

She had come directly after their first mission as a team--at least with Artemis on it--which didn't help. Artemis had only been with them for under five hours, and then Nora showed up, creating even more tension in the already borderline hostile group. It was just her luck.

At least it was her first day or training with the team, which happened three times a week, two on the weekend, twice if there was a mission. She was confused by that, she didn't understand why there was so little--she had trained every second she got--but Black Canary explained that to be a hero you had to balance your life outside of it, that they had to focus on the future, too, which meant education.

Nora thought that was complete bullshit, since if she didn't stop Blue Beetle nearly all of them would be dead in under a decade, but that wasn't exactly the best argument, so she kept it to herself.

"Since Nora's joining us today, we're going to do basic training. To get you used to her fighting style and vice versa."

"What about her?" Wally questioned bitterly, jutting his thumb over his shoulder to Artemis. The blonde only glared at him like he was the most vile thing in the world.

"Artemis was trained by Green Arrow," Black Canary said, though no one in the room believed it. "Her fighting style will be slightly similar to yours even if it's entirely different. Nora isn't from this time, she might have entirely different styles that haven't been created yet."

Connor let out a grunt at that, something Nora had noticed he did a lot. He was a man of very, very few words.

"No powers," Black Canary said, which earned a groan from Wally and a snicker from Robin. "Don't step out of the highlighted circle on the ground, we're working on close combat. Remember to asses your opponent, think about where they're going to go next based on their preferred fighting style."

A holograph displaying the duos, each listed with the names, appeared. Artemis and Robin, Wally and M'gann, and Kaldur and Nora.

"Connor," Black Canary said, "you'll be introduced after this. We're taking the person who 'wins' with the other until there's only one person left. And then we'll assess their fighting style as a group, discuss the importance in their moves but also the downfalls. Now, go."

Nora moved forward into the circle just as Kaldur did, the circle lighting up white as their feet touched down. The others were spread out from them in the training room, giving them room, and while the circle was large, she could tell it made Kaldur feel confined. She could work with that, she was used to confined.

She didn't know much about Kaldur, it wasn't important to know about him, but she knew the basic things Wally thought were important to know. Strong leader, never really suited for it despite that and always shouldered too much, calm and precise even in the face of immense danger, which translated to his death. Nora just needed to find the pin to his grenade, the right thing to set him off and take him down.

They circled each other for a moment, Kaldur's position more refined while Nora's could only described as _scrappy_ , but when he surged forward after nearly thirty seconds she ducked to the side to avoid his fist to her face, just barely rolling over his ankle as he tried to trip her.

She popped back up, fists raised, waiting for him to make another move. Kaldur stared at her, face determined but blank, confident in his abilities, and moved forward again. This time he knew how her immediate response was to move away, so he threw a faulty punch toward her, causing her to move to the side, where his bare foot kicked her firmly in the stomach.

Nora grunted, a familiar pain resting in her chest, the urge to throw up crawling within her as she raised her fists again. This time she took the initiative, allowing him to step toward her until he was close enough to catch her fist when she went to punch him in the jaw. Using that leverage as he held her fist with crushing force, she grabbed his wrist and twisted, causing his eyes to widen as she quickly made him to let go of her hand when she pinned his arm behind his back.

She kneed him in the middle of the spine, sending him to the ground as she held him against it.

"Fail, Aqualad," the computer announced.

When Kaldur stood, arm now free, he shook it, grimacing slightly. Nora felt a bit guilty, she hadn't thought about how it might have hurt, but it wasn't something she ever thought of while fighting. Aside from training with Wally there was never a time where a fight wasn't for survival, she wasn't sure what was _enough_ force or _too much_.

"Good job, but remember, _predict_ what they're going to do next. Don't rely on your own skills, learn theirs. You're a team now, you need to know how to work side-by-side."

Connor grumbled about that, something about "punching works," but otherwise didn't complain. He was paired with her, which Nora knew would already be easy. He let anger control him, she could easily press his buttons.

The circle lit up and it only took a few seconds for Connor to make a move. In a blur of movement his fist was flying at her and she ducked just in time, nearly making him stumble out of the circle. When he stood, trying to calm himself from nearly falling out of the circle for a fraction of a second, Nora took the opportunity to kick the back of his knee, and from that he stumbled back, off balance, his face quickly twisting into fury.

 _The pin was out_.

He blindly flung his fist toward her, letting out a yell of rage, and she grabbed his arm, twisted, and brought her knee up. She just barely stopped herself as Connor flung her, her body sliding out of the circle, pain radiating in her skull as it bounced off of the metal floor.

" _Superboy!_ "

Nora's lips twisted together, eyebrows pinched together in the most hateful look she could muster, but Black Canary quickly ran over, stepping in the large space between the two. The rest of the training had stopped, to the point that it was nearly dead silent aside from Nora's heart beating a thousand miles an hour in her chest.

"What the hell was that? I said _no powers_."

"She tried to break my arm!" Connor yelled. "She almost did!"

Black Canary paused, considering it, and turned to Nora. "Is that true?"

"I didn't," she insisted, her face starting to burn. "I realized what I was doing, I stopped. I wouldn't actually do that."

A lie, she barely stopped herself before she did it. She wasn't used to fighting without trying to actively injure.

"Nora, that's not what we're doing. We try to fight with the _least_ injuries, even if they're our enemy in the field."

"I didn't do it, alright?" Nora fumed as she got to her feet. "If I wanted to I could've broke his stupidly strong arm, but I didn't. It's not that big of a deal."

It was, but no one stopped her as she stormed away. It wasn't like they could, they didn't know what to say to her, they didn't know what comforted her and what didn't.

**Author's Note:**

> cross-posted on wattpad under euphoricsenses !! updates are more frequent there!


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